


Scorpius, Lily and the Dragons

by Sheenigummy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dragons, F/M, Romance, dragon healers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:35:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28935648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheenigummy/pseuds/Sheenigummy
Summary: Forced to manage a failing dragon reserve owned by Charlie Weasley for 6 months, by his father, Scorpius is unwillingly thrust into the unpredictable world of dragons. He finds himself having to work with one of the reserve's dragon healer, Lily Potter. Together they must save the creatures from poachers, neo death eaters and extinction while trying not to kill each other; or worse, shag each other. [Scorily]
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/George Weasley, Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Audrey Weasley/Percy Weasley, Fleur Delacour/Bill Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Padma Patil/Charlie Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy/Lily Luna Potter, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Lily Luna Potter loved dragons. She loved dragons so much that one could say that she was obsessed with them to a point where they consumed her life. She couldn't exactly pinpoint when it was that her obsession with the creatures began. Her mother suggested that perhaps it all began on her 5th birthday when her favourite Uncle Charlie returned from Romania for her birthday party. Her Uncle Charlie had always been her favourite uncle. He was patient, kind and never seemed to have a shortage of exciting stories revolving around dragons.

Her 5th birthday present from her Uncle Charlie had come in the form of a very life-like Chinese Fireball dragon plush toy that sprouted heatless fire and gave tiny realistic roars. Lily's father always said that from the moment she laid eyes on that plush toy, it was love at first sight. She had nicknamed the plush toy Kai on suggestion from Uncle Charlie that it meant 'fire' in Celtic and since then Lily and Kai had never been apart. That had been exactly 20 years ago though and now on her 25th birthday she found herself in the middle of Diagon Alley championing her obsession; dragons.

"So this was what you blew me off for when I invited you to for lunch?" a voice cut in as Lily took a swig of water.

"Hugo!" she exclaimed, her lips breaking into a wide smile.

"Happy Birthday cuz!" he said, pulling her in for a warm hug. "Now care to tell me, what on earth you're doing in the middle of diagon alley, with this?" He gestured to the makeshift table she'd set up with pamphlets and dragon related memorabilia.

"I'm working" she replied simply, pulling her deep red curls into a ponytail atop her head.

"You can't really consider it working can you?" Hugo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Working generally implies that you would be getting paid but in this case, you're doing it for free aren't you?"

"You know Uncle Charlie can't afford to pay me right now" she replied pointedly. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"

"Is the reserve still not doing well?" Hugo asked, concern etched on his face.

"Unfortunately no", she let out a long suffering sigh. "We thought we could make it with the donations we got from our other family members but it appears that the entire reserve needs an overhaul. Only problem is that Uncle Charlie doesn't have the finances to overhaul the place but he needs to overhaul the place to get increased finances. It's a catch 22. What we really need is an investor, someone willing to put in money and help with the management."

Hugo nodded in understanding, concern still evident on his face. "Don't get too consumed by everything though. I don't want you to get too upset by all this. We all know how you get when it comes to dragons".

Lily rolled her olive green eyes at her cousin. "Did you come here just to nag me Hugo?"

"Amongst other things", he replied with a grin on his face. "I'm also here to remind you to turn up on time to your own birthday dinner tonight. I bumped into your mum earlier when she was getting some groceries and she told me to remind you. Remember that one year you went to protest with all your dragon loving friends over the illegal poaching in Bulgaria and you arrived so late you almost missed your entire birthday dinner?"

"Well, speaking of late Hugo, it's almost 2pm" she said looking at the watch her Aunt Hermione had given her as a graduation present. "Your lunch hour is almost over and if you so much as return a minute late Healer Jenkins is going to kill you".

"Shit, shit shit, I'd better run" he exclaimed. "Healer Jenkins already has me doing extra ward rounds from the last time I was late".

"Toodles" Lily called out chuckling to herself as she watched Hugo make a mad dash back to St Mungos muttering a string of expletives as he went.

Out of all her cousins, she was the closest to Hugo. The two of them had attended Hogwarts at the same time and had been inseparable despite being in different houses. Hugo who was quiet and studious like his mother had been sorted into Ravenclaw and she had been sorted into Slytherin much to her own dismay. It hadn't been too bad for her in Slytherin. Her older brother Albus had also been sorted into the same house 2 years before and he had endeavoured to make her life as comfortable as possible. If it weren't for him, she probably wouldn't have survived.

Her mother and father had been the picture perfect Gryffindors. Their tales were legendary and there wasn't a single witch or wizard alive who didn't know the name 'Harry Potter'. Apart from her and Albus, the other Weasley cousins were all sorted into the remaining houses with a majority of them in Gryffindor. She relied on Hugo the most, being the same age. They studied together and hung out often and there wasn't much that they didn't know about one another. She'd grown up amongst boys and easily felt comfortable with him.

When they both graduated from Hogwarts, they started Healer training together before Lily had branched out into being a healer for magical creatures, specializing in dragons. It had been her Uncle Charlie's suggestion and she had pounced on it, diving head first into the world of dragons that she loved so much. She had spent most of her summers helping her Uncle Charlie in the dragon reserve that he ran so it seemed only natural that she would end up with a career that supported her obsession over the creatures.

She thought back to her long struggle to get to where she was today. She'd never been very academically inclined back at Hogwarts and had been fairly average with most of the subjects that she'd taken. She was however, very good at healing. Madam Pomfrey had called her a natural and she seemed to excel at all the tasks in the subject and her eyes glazed over as she remembered spending every waking moment outside meal times in the library with Hugo studying for the Healer College entrance exams. Once she'd received her acceptance letter, there had been no going back.

A gust of wind sent the pamphlets on the table flying, rudely jerking her out of her nostalgia. Much like Hugo had earlier, she let out a string of expletives as she scrambled to collect the stray pamphlets.

"You missed a few" a hand thrust a small stack of pamphlets under her nose while she placed a paperweight on top of the ones she'd collected.

"Thank you" she said as she collected the pamphlets from the stranger.

"You're most welcome" he said formally and her gaze found its way to his face to meet steely grey eyes.

He looked startlingly familiar and she wondered where she'd seen him before. His platinum blonde hair was neatly cut and styled and he wore an expensive set of formal work robes that looked to have been tailor made for his physique. He gave her a polite smile showing the slight wrinkles around his mouth and the faint crow's feet around his eyes. He was probably around the same age as her parents but unlike her father and mother who smiled and laughed readily, there was an air of restraint about the man in front of her.

"Err, can I help you with anything?" she asked awkwardly as the man continued to linger at her table, his eyes scanning the pamphlets and paraphernalia on the table.

"Silver Scales, Dragon Reserve" he read the title of the pamphlet out aloud. "Is this the charity that you're promoting?"

"It's not really a charity per say" she explained. "My uncle owns and runs this dragon reserve. We use the profit we make and channel it into dragon research as well as medical treatments for the creatures".

"And you young lady?" he asked looking at her with his lips curving slightly into what resembled a small smile. "Do you work at the reserve?"

"Yes, I'm a dragon healer sir" she replied.

"A dragon healer?"

"Yes" she replied earnestly, her eyes sparkling. "I help with the care and treatment of the dragons and often double up as a dragon keeper" she replied. "I'm especially involved with the care of dragon eggs and the behavioural aspect of the dragons as well. The same way females experience postpartum depression, female dragons can experience the same after they have laid their eggs and this can lead to them destroying their own eggs. I monitor things like that and see how to help the new mother dragons. I also help raise orphaned baby dragons that have been rescued and brought to the reserve".

"You sound like you're passionate about your work", the man remarked. "Not often are young people as passionate about their jobs as you are". He fished into his pocket and produced a hand full of galleons, dropping them into her collection tin.

"Thank you very much for your donation sir" she said, pleasantly surprised by his act of random kindness. "I'm sure the dragons will be very grateful for your donation".

"Do you enjoy your work?" he asked.

"Very much so" she replied with a broad smile, nodding enthusiastically. "They are fascinating creatures after all and we could learn a whole lot from them. Are you interested in dragons sir?"

"I suppose you could say that. My mother in particular was very fond of dragons and I would often visit dragon reserves around the world whenever my family went on holiday" he replied, the small smile on his lips widening. "I will never forget trekking the beautiful Scottish highlands to glimpse the long neck water dragons. Muggles who had sighted them on rare occasions thought they were monsters but those creatures were so much more than that."

"Oh yes, the 'Loch Ness Monster' is what Muggles used to call them" Lily leant forward enthusiastically to converse with the older stranger. "They are incredibly shy but every so often they do show themselves. You must really like dragons to trek the highlands to see them".

"My name does mean dragon after all and it would be somewhat tragic if I didn't like the creatures I was named after" he mused.

Lily laughed and nodded in understanding. "Well perhaps you should visit the reserve when you have the time. If you ask for Lily at the ticket counter, I'll come out and will be happy to give you a tour of the reserve".

"That is very kind of you but surely that would be too much of an imposition" he said, his gaze shifting once again to the pamphlet on the table.

"No, no not at all! I would be more than happy to show you around sir. It's always nice to meet a fellow dragon enthusiast! Besides, the reserve isn't doing too well. Not many people visit these days so your visit would be most welcomed."

She picked up one of her name cards from the holder, writing her name on the back of the card before handing it to him.

"Lily Potter?" he asked reading out her name.

She nodded with a thin smile, steeling herself for the comments that usually followed whenever people heard her last name but to her pleasant surprise, she didn't receive any.

"Well thank you Lily, it certainly was a pleasure to meet you" he replied pocketing the card. "Do you mind if I take one of these?" he asked, gesturing to the pamphlets.

"Not at all sir" she replied happily as he took one of the pamphlets.

"Enough of this 'sir' nonsense Just call me Dray", he waved his hand dismissively and this time, he smiled wide enough for Lily to see the laugh lines appearing at the side of his mouth.

"Sure. It was nice to meet you, hope to see you at the reserve" she replied with a toothy grin and with a wave in her direction, the man she now knew as Dray carried on his way.

Lily watched as he walked away, the happy grin still on her face. She wasn't overly fond of handing out pamphlets in the middle of Diagon Alley but every so often she met someone who didn't mind listening to her talk about dragons and those interactions made it worthwhile. Not to mention he had given a generous donation worth more than she'd collected in a long time. She could only hope that more people like him came to the aid of the reserve.

* * *

Draco Malfoy stood outside the large office building in Diagon Alley that housed various businesses. The large 'M' loomed imposingly on the side of the building. He had bought the building a long time ago and it had since proved to be one of his more lucrative investments.

"Sorry I'm late Uncle Draco, I had a problematic client to attend to".

Draco turned to look at the young mocha skinned man who had spoken while hurrying over to stand beside him. The young man before him was no stranger to Draco. He had known him since he was born and as the son of his best friend Blaise Zabini and the best friend of his son Scorpius, he had a significantly close relationship with the young man.

"Good to see you Varian" he greeted and gave the younger man a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Where is Scorpius? I expected him to be with you."

"Uh I'm not sure where he is to be honest, he might still be at home" Varian replied as he led Draco through the revolving glass doors of the building.

"When there's work to be done?" Draco raised an eyebrow and Varian looked uncomfortable.

"Uh I think he needed to speak to a client and"-

"Varian, when are you going to stop protecting him?" Draco asked, looking at him seriously.

"I'm not"-

"Did you think I wouldn't know what that idiot son of mine is up to?" Draco sighed tiredly. "I thought he would improve once the firm was up and running but he seems to have gotten complacent".

"He is a very good lawyer Uncle Draco" Varian said as he and Draco reached the highest floor of the building.

"It's not his competence I'm worried about" Draco replied quietly. "It's his attitude. Astoria and I have spoilt him thoroughly and my parents coddle him to no end".

Draco looked at the large sign outside the glass doors. 'Zabini, Malfoy & Associates'. Varian held open the glass doors and Draco stepped through. There was a flurry of movement as soon as Draco stepped into the firm with staff members scrambling to greet the elder Malfoy.

"Mr Malfoy will have a latte and a cappuccino for me Marie" Varian called out to one of the secretaries.

They walked along the corridor before stopping at a glass door on which the words VARIAN ZABINI, PARTNER stood out in black. Varian held the door open for Draco who paused, looking through the glass doors of the office directly opposite Varian's. Draco frowned at the words 'SCORPIUS MALFOY, PARTNER' on the door before following Varian into the office.

"When your father and I invested money into this firm Varian, we expected returns" Draco began. "You and Scorpius had finished training at the judicial institute and after completing your five years of practice, your father and I decided to open this firm because we believed that both of you would do something great".

"Umm I must apologize Uncle Draco if we have disappointed you in any way" Varian said leaning clasping his fingers together on his desk, leaning forward.

"Nonsense Varian, you are in no way a disappointment. In fact, I would say that you are single handedly managing this firm and keeping it afloat when it should have been a 50-50 partnership. Scorpius should not be burdening you with his duties and from what I can see"- Draco gestured to the stacks of files and papers on Varian's desk "you have enough on your plate already".

They were interrupted by Marie bringing their drinks and Draco looked at her with a frown.

"You're Scorpius's secretary aren't you?" he asked Marie and she gulped nervously, nodding as she set his latte down on the fancy glass table. "Tell me then, how many days has Scorpius been in the office this week?"

"Uh, umm I-I'm not sure" Marie stammered holding the bare coffee tray to her chest.

"If you want to keep your job you'll tell me what I want to know" Draco stated coolly.

Draco had interrogated Marie for a good 10 minutes before he allowed her to return to her normal duties. The pretty secretary had scampered away as soon as Draco had finished his line of questioning looking somewhat satisfied with himself.

"I think you should fire her," Draco casually sipped his latte and Varian looked at in disbelief.

"Uncle Draco wh-why do you say that?" Varian asked, looking at the older man.

"She's too pretty to be a secretary. Her heels are too high; she can barely walk in them. Her nails are too long, she can't write things fast enough and her clothes look far too tight for her to complete any laborious task comfortably and I doubt she has adequately completed any of her duties" Draco remarked. Varian nodded, taking a sip of his cappuccino and looking like he secretly agreed with the older Malfoy. "If she's the one Scorpius hired then he's probably already slept with her. You know I don't condone office relationships".

Varian choked on his drink, spluttering in embarrassment, his cheeks blotched with crimson. "Uncle Draco!"

"Look Varian, the reason I asked to see you is because of my idiot son. I know Scorpius takes things for granted. He's never had to work hard, everything has come easy for him. He was naturally gifted with his studies, he was good at Quidditch and he was blessed with good genetics if I do say so myself. He has always been a spoilt child and for that I can only blame his grandparents, myself and his mother. He has never had to struggle.".

"He'll be fine Uncle Draco, he just needs to mature a little more," Varian consoled.

"He needs a good kick up the bum and a bit of roughing up before he can mature and I know just how to do it" Draco exclaimed.

"Wait, how?"

"With this!" Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled pamphlet that he'd taken from Lily Potter that morning.

"Silver Scales Dragon Reserve?" Varian read out aloud looking puzzled. "How is this supposed to help?"

"I'm going to invest money into this reserve Varian," Draco explained.

"Oh, ok. I can contact the owner and we can sort all that out" Varian explained. "How much are you willing to put in?"

"A million galleons" Draco replied simply and Varian dropped his cappuccino mug back onto its saucer with a clang.

"A mill- a million galleons?"

"Yes, a million galleons" Draco replied firmly. "I want you to draft up a contract and I want to include certain conditions in it that are somewhat unusual".

"What kind of conditions do you want to include?" Varian asked as he began scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.

"I want Scorpius to run it," Draco stated, a smug look gracing his features.

"Oh-oh dear, Scorpius isn't going to like that", Varian pointed out.

"I know, that's why I want him to do it," Draco replied. "And you're going to convince him to do it".

"I can't do that Uncle Draco!" Varian protested. "Your son is an enigma, he does whatever the hell he wants. How can I convince him?"

"You'll convince him by any means possible if you want this firm to keep running. With the amount I've put into this place, all I have to do is pull out my original investment and this place will have to shut. Besides, your father stands with me in solidarity on this". A trademark Malfoy smirk plastered itself on Draco's face.

Varian paled, finally understanding the seriousness of this task bestowed upon him and Draco watched in satisfaction as he buzzed Marie on the wireless. "Marie, can you please contact Scorpius Malfoy for me. _Now_ ".

"I knew you were the right man for this," Draco said, taking a delightfully triumphant sip of his latte.

* * *

The room door burst open and Scorpius Malfoy woke up with a start.

"What the fuck" he exclaimed and the sheets stirred beside him to reveal a blonde, half naked woman.

"Rise and shine princess" the voice of his best friend, Varian Zabini called in a sing song as he entered the room, letting in the natural light from his opened room door. "It's 3pm in the afternoon. Time to get up!"

"Who the fuck are you?" the blonde half naked woman asked rudely, looking at Varian with deep disdain.

"He's my best friend. Who the fuck are _you_?" Scorpius turned to look at the woman beside him.

"Don't you remember?" she asked in surprise.

"Nope and don't really care". Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly.

"You chatted me up at the three broomsticks last night!" she exclaimed.

Scorpius looked thoughtful for a moment. "Still don't remember you. Now if you're done here, would you please leave?"

The blonde huffed angrily spluttering and muttering about arrogant pig headed jerks as she collected her discarded clothing from where they were scattered around the room.

"Cookie" Scorpius called out with a snap of his fingers and a house elf appeared dressed in what looked like an embroidered pillow case with a matching knitted hat on its head. "Would you please show this lady out?"

"Yes Master Scorpius" the house elf replied with a low bow.

"Of all the rude, arrogant jerks I have ever met, you're the worst" the blonde half naked woman accused as she was led out of the room by the house elf.

Scorpius looked at his best friend who was standing there watching the situation with an eyebrow raised and blinked innocently. "What?"

Varian sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You've got to stop doing this".

"Doing what?" Scorpius asked and Varian scowled.

"Score it's a fucking weekday man and here you are still sleeping off your hangover from last night when you really should be oh I don't know- going to work?"

"Urgh, spare me the lecture Varian and stop talking so loudly, my head hurts" Scorpius groaned.

"Well you deserve it".

Scorpius made a non-committal noise before rolling over on his side, pulling the sheets over his body.

"Are you seriously going back to sleep?" Varian asked incredulously.

"Yes" Scorpius replied, not moving from his horizontal position.

"Alright, that's it" Varian exclaimed, walking over to the dark coloured drapes at the corner of the room and pulled it apart fiercely.

"Argh Varian what the fuck!" Scorpius shielded his eyes as a burst of sunlight flooded the room. "Are you trying to fucking blind me?"

"Come on Score, wake up. I have something urgent to discuss with you" Varian said as he stood at the foot of Scorpius's monstrous king sized bed.

"What about?" Scorpius asked, never moving from his position on the bed.

"Your father visited the office today" Varian stated and that propelled Scorpius straight from his bed.

"What did my father want?" He started moving, locating his boxer briefs, pulling them on in haste and Varian rolled his eyes.

"I know we're bros and all but can you please try not to parade around me stark naked?"

"Why? Worried that you might suddenly develop feelings for me? Sorry but you're not really my type" Scorpius teased.

"Score I have something urgent to discuss with you". Varian followed him into the large ensuite bathroom.

"See this is why you're not my type. You're too serious for me and besides, I have a thing for blondes". The younger Malfoy sniggered as Varian let out an exasperated puff of breath.

"Will you try and be serious for just one god damned moment in your fucking life?" Varian snapped.

Scorpius paused midway, taking his toothbrush out of his mouth. Something must have happened, for Varian to lose his cool. He was the calmer one between them and something major must have happened for him to have snapped at Scorpius.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked sobering at the expression on Varian's face.

"You might need a cup of tea and a pepper up potion if you're going to hear what I have to say. Get dressed; I'll meet you at the cafe downstairs in 10 minutes". Without another word, Varian turned on his heel and walked out of the room leaving Scorpius wondering.

* * *

"NO, ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOT! I AM NOT DOING IT"

"Scorpius" Varian began tiredly as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"NO! THE ANSWER IS NO AND THAT IS FINAL. I'M NOT RUNNING SOME SHITTY RESERVE LIKE SOME DRAGON LOVING HIPPIE!"

"Will you keep your voice down!" Varian hissed "the entire cafe is staring at us".

Scorpius crossed his arms in defiance, his freshly washed hair falling into his eyes. "I'm not fucking doing it Varian".

"Well tell that to your father because he is going to pull out his investment from our firm if you don't do it" Varian explained.

"So? We still have your dad and if we combine our savings we can"-

"My dad's siding with yours on this little point and sent me an owl, asking me to follow whatever your dad wants to do" Varian leant back in his chair looking like he'd aged ten years.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"Scorpius! Keep your god damned voice down! You're drawing attention to us". Varian frowned at the platinum blonde man before him and sighed.

"He can't make me do it," Scorpius said defiantly. "He won't follow through with it. You know that, he can try but in the end I'll probably win".

"What makes you so sure?" Varian asked. "He's already drafted up a contract for the reserve indicating the terms of the investment".

Scorpius's jaw dropped. "No he fucking didn't".

Varian sighed again, the fatigue apparent on his face as drank his 5th cappuccino for the day. "Yes he did and he made me do it. In fact, he made up his mind this morning and came to see me. We took an hour to draft the contract and then contacted the reserve after that- and the day isn't even over yet".

"I'm going to go and see my father right now and talk some sense into him," he exclaimed.

"Look, you know better than I do that once your father makes up his mind, nothing can change it. You should just accept defeat with this one and do what he wants you to".

"Never" Scorpius snarled. "I'm not doing it! He can't force me to do it".

"He can't force you, but his means of getting you to do it are..." Varian trailed off. "Quite persuasive, I dare say".

"Nope, no way in hell am I doing it". Scorpius folded his arms, a defiant scowl on his face.

"Stop being a childish little snot Score and just get it over and done with" Varian snapped.

"Easy for you to say V, you don't have to fucking do it!" Grey eyes flashing, Scorpius glared at his friend.

"Well guess what, I have to help you, so I guess you could say I'm in this with you" Varian sulked.

The scowl on the younger Malfoy's face was soon replaced by unabashed glee. "That does actually make me feel a little better. You know what they say, misery loves company and right now, you make excellent company".

"Piss off".

"That still doesn't mean I'll do it," Scorpius stated.

* * *

"Lily! My sweet petal! Happy Birthday" Grandma Molly exclaimed, throwing her arms around Lily in a warm hug. "I'm glad you could make it on time this year dear".

"Grandma!" Lily's cheeks flushed a deep scarlet and she quickly moved on to greet other members of her family.

She spied her parents talking to her uncle Bill and she approached them to give her greetings. "Happy Birthday sweetheart" her mother pulled her into a hug, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Can't believe you're 25 already!" Harry exclaimed as he too wished his daughter with one of his bear hugs.

"Grown into such a big Lily flower, this one" Uncle Bill remarked, ruffling her hair fondly.

"Uncle Bill!" she protested but couldn't help the giggles that escaped her mouth. She should have been used to this; he did this every time she'd seen him after all.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my little god sister Lily Potter" Lily groaned.

"Teddy, please spare my hair, Uncle Bill has already mussed it up once". Lily held her hands protectively over her head but the blue haired man only gave her a cheeky grin in response and attacked her hair, ruffling it worse than Bill had done before.

"Not a chance!" He stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"Ugh Teddy! You know how unruly my hair is naturally, I didn't need you adding to it!" she growled in annoyance while trying desperately to smooth her hair to her head.

"You still look beautiful darling" Harry said as he tried to help her smooth her hair.

"I blame this"- Lily pointed to her wild mane of hair "on you Dad!"

"At least you got your mother's looks though" Harry replied and Lily frowned.

"Genetics, such a blessing and a curse. I can't count the number of times people remark how mum and I look like sisters- great for her, terribly awkward for me", she sulked.

Harry chuckled and stroked her hair lovingly, "think about it- one day that'll be you and your daughter too".

"She needs a man first before she can have a daughter and right now she's not doing too well on that front" Sirius interjected.

"Did anyone ask for your two sickles worth?" Harry asked. "Speaking of not doing too well, what's this I hear from Neville about you failing your last Herbology report?"

"Oh err…would love to stay and chat dad but I think I heard Grandma asking for me to help her in the kitchen", Sirius shifted before making a run for it.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Harry called after his retreating back with Lily sniggering behind her hands.

Half an hour later, she'd come full circle and made her way around the Burrow to greet every man, woman and child in sight. It was all part of having a big family. She spied the various cliques around the Burrow deciding which one to insert herself into when she spotted her Uncle Charlie at the drinks area.

"Lily pie" he greeted enthusiastically, enveloping her in a firm hug despite seeing her almost every day.

"I thought you weren't going to make it today because you were on night shift?"

He grinned suddenly "I managed to get Max to swap with me and I think he was quite happy to do night shift because Rachel is also on night shift tonight".

"Wait why- I didn't know they had a thing!" she exclaimed.

"What? How did you not know? It's been going on since the beginning of this year!" Charlie looked at her incredulously.

"She's quite blind to everything that doesn't have scales" a voice cut in and Lily beamed in delight herself at the black haired youth with her mother's chocolate eyes. "You're smothering me!" His voice came out muffled as Lily hugged him tightly.

"Sirius! Oh my little brother, now I can properly give you a hug without you running away from dad because you're so incompetent with Herbology! I'm so happy to see you! I thought you weren't back till Monday because you had Quidditch practice?" she asked and he shrugged. Lily held on to him tightly and he patted her arm lovingly.

"I wanted to surprise you," he replied. "Al came and got me this afternoon. "Strange that Al volunteered to come and get me. I was expecting dad".

"Well, how could I not go and pick up the baby of the family," Al said, coming to stand beside his siblings.

"I reckon he just wanted to visit his old hunting ground" Sirius remarked. "And maybe a certain new professor Patil-Finnigan that Casanova Albus Severus can't seem to get enough of".

"Will you shut up" Albus hissed and Lily raised an eyebrow.

"He-hello M-Maya uh ho-ho-how are you?" Sirius mimicked and Lily thought the baby of their family sounded uncannily like their older brother. "Oh I'm fine Albus, how are you?" Sirius proceeded to do a one man reenactment of the encounter between his brother and his supposed love interest."I-m good thank you Ma-Maya".

Sirius made a big show of flicking his hair to imitate the object of Albus's affections. "Did you get a haircut recently? It looks good!"

Albus growled in warning, heat radiated off him. "Don't you dare."

Sirius blinked innocently and drew out a slow mischievous smile. "What do you think our dear big brother Albus replied?" he asked Lily who shrugged in response. "I-I like your-your eyebrows".

"I like your eyebrows?" Lily snorted. "That's the most original compliment I've heard in a long time!"

"Piss off" Albus scowled but he'd turned an unflattering shade of crimson.

"Can you believe I had to watch this painfully awkward exchange?" Sirius turned to his sister trying to express the suffering he'd been put through.

"I'm going to kill you" Albus seethed and Sirius's eyes widened with the sudden realization that he was about to be murdered by his brother.

"Save me Lily" Sirius wailed dramatically as Albus lunged forward prompting Sirius to dart around her.

Lily laughed uncontrollably as she watched Sirius weave his way in and out of relatives trying to escape his brother who promised bloody murder for such betrayal. Shouts from various relatives reached her ears as her brothers traversed through the house.

"Those two will never change", Charlie had poured himself a glass of firewhisky and had moved to stand beside her.

"Tell me about it" Lily replied, shaking her head. "They're bloody incorrigible and quite hopeless too".

"Speaking of hope" Charlie cut in "how was today's collection?"

"It was pretty good. I had a really generous donor". Lily's smile broadened as she recollected the kind stranger she'd met in the morning.

"Well things are definitely looking up I'll say" Charlie remarked with a satisfied sigh.

"What do you mean?" the confusion was evident in Lily's face.

"I received an offer today" Charlie gave her a toothy grin. "Someone wants to invest in the firm?"

"Oh my god!" Lily exclaimed in surprise, drawing the attention of Albus who had finished dealing with Sirius and was leaning against the wall with a glass of red wine in his hands.

"What happened?" Albus moved from his position by the wall to insert himself into the conversation between his sister and uncle.

"Uncle Charlie got an offer of investment today!" Lily repeated.

"What? That's bloody brilliant Uncle Charlie! Who is it from?" Both Lily and Albus waited eagerly.

"Do you know Varian Zabini?" Charlie asked the two of them and both nodded but didn't offer anything. "What's with the expressions? Aren't you going to tell me about him?"

"Sorry, just shocked that's all". Albus looked thoughtful for a moment, "I didn't figure him for a dragon loving sort that's all".

"Wait, what does a dragon loving sort have to look like?" Lily asked, her hands on her hips, her expression challenging Albus to speak.

"Oh you know, batshit crazy?" Albus offered and Lily hit him hard on the shoulder. "Exhibit A", he held his hands out gesturing to Lily and Charlie laughed. "And exhibit B" Albus shifted his hands to gesture in Charlie's direction and Charlie stopped laughing..

"Wanker" Charlie muttered darkly, emitting a chuckle from Albus. "But yes, back to Varian Zabini, what is he like?"

"Drop dead gorgeous" Lily replied dreamily. "He had the best eyes, nose, lips I've ever seen and imagine all that on the same face". She looked lost in thought for a moment before continuing. "Plus he also had the most taut, round, bubble butt which had all the girls in Hogwarts frothing over"-

"I meant personality" Charlie scowled, slapping his palm to his forehead.

"Sorry" she shrugged sheepishly, "priorities".

"He's a good guy," Albus added helpfully. "He was in Slytherin too but he always hung around Malfoy back in Hogwarts so we didn't have much to do with him. He was just a nice guy though, friendly and just an all round good bloke.".

"Very smart, kind and capable too!" Lily put in. "I think he was head boy when Rose was Head Girl. But he was always fair and didn't dock off points from other houses for no reason. Generally everyone liked and trusted him. Heard his father wasn't so nice back in Hogwarts though".

"I had to work with him a couple of times and he was pretty easy to work with", Albus looked thoughtful. "I heard he has his own firm now or something like that, so he must be raking in the big galleons."

"Gosh he was gorgeous though" Lily sighed again and both Charlie and Albus rolled their eyes.

"Well froth all you want my niece because it seems like he's the new investor. He sent me an owl today asking if he could meet with me tomorrow to discuss the terms and conditions of the contract".

"I hope it all goes well", Lily looked a tad too eager but Charlie merely snorted.

"You just want to perv on him", Charlie wagged a finger at her and she smirked.

"So when will everything be finalized?" Albus asked.

"I'm not sure but Varian Zabini seemed very efficient. He told me he's drafted a contract and wants me to have a look over it and then he'll discuss amounts and additional terms tomorrow. Weird that he asked that there be no cooling off period. I would have thought it would be in his best interests to have a cooling off period".

"No idea" Lily replied. "Maybe he's so sure of his investment?"

"Possibly" Charlie looked thoughtful. "But I don't want to get my hopes up too early. I'm going to wait till tomorrow then see how things go."

"But what about the charity ball tomorrow?" Lily asked. "James has booked 2 tables for our family. Besides, it's a good place for us to promote our reserve and hope that people consider donating to us too".

"I think our discussions should be done by then so I'll still be able to make it".

"Famous last words" Albus warned.

"Urgh it's just going to be filled with boring old people though" Lily complained. "Remember last year Al?"

"Urgh don't remind me", Albus shuddered. "I supported the children's wing at St Mungos last year and Hugo made me dance with all these old ladies in exchange for their donations to the wing."

"Uh excuse me, he made me do that too don't you remember?" Charlie grumbled. "Then one of of the old ladies asked me how much it was extra for her to take me home!" He shivered uncomfortably at the memory.

Lily laughed heartily. "You should be so pleased that you've still got it Uncle Charlie".

"What? I should be pleased that these old ladies, old enough to be my mother may I remind you, are lusting after me?"

"Fair point. I retract that, I'm just so glad that didn't happen to me". Lily chuckled.

"That's because you weren't there!" Albus retorted. "You did miss Malfoy getting blind drunk and leaving with Kingsley Shacklebolt's grand daughter. I mean can you imagine leaving with the minister of Magic's grand daughter?"

"I heard they shagged in the female toilet" Charlie told them.

"No, surely he didn't do that? How did I not know this" Lily's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Well maybe if you attend these functions more often, you'd get all the goss" Albus chided.

"Are we talking about Malfoy and last year's dinner?" James Potter Jr interjected, throwing his arm around his sister.

"Yeah" Albus replied "and his sexcapades".

"I heard he ripped her underwear off with his _teeth_ ," James added.

"No he didn't" Lily's jaw had dropped open.

"Well that's what I heard from one of the chasers on my team. She knows someone who knows someone who saw it happen" James looked proud that he'd acquired and provided this information.

"I actually heard it was edible underwear" Hugo piped up and James looked positively scandalized.

"Surely he didn't-" Charlie trailed off.

"It is Malfoy after all and he does have a reputation that precedes him" Lily replied.

Charlie grinned wolfishly, "who knew that there was something I could actually learn from a Malfoy".

"UNCLE CHARLIE!" Lily exclaimed looking positively disgusted.

* * *

Lily was so full she could barely move out of the loveseat she was in. Hugo who was seated beside her mirrored her posture. Dinner had been a scrumptious affair thanks to her grandmother and between her own mother and her Aunt Hermione, her birthday cake was indeed death by chocolate.

"Urgh I can't move" Hugo called, sticking his belly out unflatteringly.

"Congratulations honey" Lily cooed from beside him, patting his belly gently. "You're having a food baby!"

"Shut up" he scowled and waved a hand dismissively at her.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention please" James called out standing in the middle of the living room. The babble of noise ceased enough for James to continue. "Don't forget about tomorrow's charity dinner! I've booked tables already and you're all expected to be there".

Lily snorted at the reactions of her family members. It didn't seem like many of them were pleased about said dinner judging from the collective groans.

Victoire raised her hand from one of the long couches she was sitting on with her husband Teddy Lupin. James pointed at her encouragingly.

"Yes, Victoire?"

"What's the dress code again?"

"Thank you for asking that question my fashionable cousin" James remarked looking at her. "It's dress robes appropriate". He blatantly ignored the louder protests from around the room. "I can hear you Uncle Ron", he snapped.

"What's the theme though?"

"Thank you again Victoire for asking. I'm sure some of the less fashionable members of our family need to know this information. It's black, silver and gold".

"Thank god" Rose whispered as she sat on the arm of the love seat Lily was on. "Black is the best colour for literally 90% of our family, almost every other colour clashes horribly with our hair".

Lily stifled a giggle, "Godric knows how painful dress shopping is for us ladies. I remember I just borrowed one of mum's fancy dress robes for the yule ball cause I couldn't be arsed searching for one that would suit me".

"For all of you that don't have dress robes or who need new ones, Uncle Bill has kindly offered to open his fashionable wardrobe to the fashion unsavvy male members of our family. For the females that haven't already organized dress robes or who simply can't be arsed to look half presentable unavoidably bringing shame and dishonour onto the rest of our good looking family, cough, cough Lily"-

Lily glared at her brother, her eyes turning a darker shade of brown. "Shut the fu-"

"Lily" her father warned and she sighed, not finishing her sentence.

"As I was saying, oh where was I before I was so rudely interrupted. Oh yes for those unfashionable females of the family, my second most fashionable single cousin Dominique has kindly volunteered to let people her clothing. If you feel like challenging gender norms, please feel free to go to either Uncle Bill or Dom, we're pretty supportive of things like that in this family. Uncle Percy, Dom has a splendid strapless green dress robe that would go fantastically with your eyes". A seat cushion promptly smacked James squarely in the face amidst covert laughter.

"Do you have a dress?" Rose asked and Lily shook her head.

"Of course she doesn't," Sirius interrupted from where he was positioned on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Have you ever seen her wear anything other than the dragon reserve's uniform, or casual clothes".

"Just borrow from Dom then" Rose suggested and Lily shook her head vigorously.

"Have you seen her wardrobe?" Lily asked and they looked in the direction of Dominique Weasley. "It's like all she wears are scrap bits of cloth to cover the important bits. I might as well be going to the dinner stark naked".

"Lily".

George's wife Angelina beckoned for her. She was sitting at the dinner table and talking with the rest of Lily's aunts.

"We have a birthday present for you" Angelina said handing her a large pink box wrapped with a red satin bow.

"Go on, open it" Hermione encouraged. "It's from Fleur, Ange, Audrey and myself".

Lily opened the box to reveal what she thought was the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. "Oh wow" she breathed. "It's beautiful".

She let her fingers slowly caress the black silk and Angelina helped her take it out of the box. "It's for you to wear tomorrow".

"We figured you wouldn't have gotten a dress" Audrey added helpfully and Lily blushed.

"Eeets made from ze best and ze most comferrtablee material" Fleur said and Lily's jaw dropped when she saw the full dress laid out in front of her.

The dress was glossy and black, like the midnight sky. The bodice was strapless and made of stiff silk, patterned with little glittery crystals. It stopped mid thigh but was long at the back extending out till it touched the bottom of her heels.

"I love it" she exclaimed and gave her hearty thanks to her group of aunties.

"Who knows" Angelina said with a shrug "you might just bring home a man tomorrow after dinner". The rest of her aunties giggled girlishly and she blushed deeply again.

"I won't count on it," Lily mumbled, embarrassed.

"You'll never know, maybe you'll meet the man of your dreams in this dress!" Audrey said.

"Yeah right", Lily rolled her eyes.

* * *

"FATHER!" Scorpius called out as he apprated into Malfoy Manor. "FATHER!"

He stalked into the dining room to find his mother and father seated at the table mid dinner. His mother looked pleasantly surprised but his father didn't even bat an eyelid at his thunderous entrance.

"I thought you said you couldn't make it for dinner today" his mother said as she put down her cutlery to look at her son.

"Change of plans" Scorpius replied, looking at his father who was unfazed, placing a piece of steak into his mouth.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of having you pop up unannounced Scorpius?" Draco drawled, a smirk on his face.

"You know why I'm here!" Scorpius accused, pointing a finger at his father. "Stop pretending like you haven't just fucked with my life!"

"Scorpius!" Astoria Malfoy exclaimed. "Language! Please calm yourself!"

"Very well" Draco put down his napkin. "Let's go into my study then shall we?"

Scorpius scowled unhappily but he paused to give his mother a quick peck on the cheek before storming after his father into the study.

Draco Malfoy's study screamed 'class'. The aged mahogany wooden bookshelves oozed wisdom and the study desk that matched the book case had a glossy shine to it. All that was missing was one of Cuba's finest cigars and Scorpius was sure that his father had a couple of those stashed away in his drawer somewhere. To his credit, Scorpius waited till his father was seated at his desk before he unleashed a verbal tirade on his father. It was all a blur really and even Scorpius wasn't fully comprehending what he was saying. His mouth seemed to work faster than his brain could process.

"MOTHER FUCKING DRAGON FUCKING RESERVE WITH ALL THE DO GOODING DRAGON LOVING"-

Draco raised his eyebrow in quiet amusement. "What are you actually here for?"

"I'M NOT FUCKING DOING IT!"

"Well, I'm surprised that you thought you had a choice in this" Draco drawled lazily as he poured himself a glass of red wine.

"FUCKING 27 YEARS OLD, DON'T NEED MY FATHER TO TREAT ME LIKE A FUCKING CHILD. I HAVE SO MUCH WORK TO FUCKING DO AND I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH ALL THAT AND THE FUCKING RESERVE"-

"Maybe if you stopped shagging every woman you met and woke up at a decent hour and actually _went_ to work, you'd get your work done".

Scorpius looked like he'd been slapped. His father had never once made reference to Scorpius's womanizing ways. He was always free to do whatever the hell he wanted.

"Work at the reserve for 6 months and I'll leave my investments in the firm. Blaise will do whatever I do, so it's of little use to try and lobby him" Draco advised as though reading Scorpius's mind.

"6 MONTHS?"

"Are you going to lower your volume and talk like a sane person? Or would you like me to ignore you until you can act like the adult that you should be?"

Scorpius scowled angrily, his eye twitching uncomfortably. "What about my clients?" His voice had dropped to an acceptable decibel but his words were laced with a dangerous fury.

"What about your clients? From what I understand, you have none," Draco smirked at him and Scorpius looked to the ceiling in defeat.

"I have the Renaldi family and their estate to manage," Scorpius retorted.

"You just want to shag their daughter. Just give those files to Varian, he does all your work anyway" Draco replied. The man had no chill. Scorpius let out a roar of frustration and Draco smirked in triumph. "Shall I take that as a yes?"

"Just for 6 months! Nothing more!" Scopius gritted his teeth while his father's expression was pleasant.

"Yes," Draco replied . "Just for 6 months".

"When do I start?"

"As soon as the contract is signed. It would probably be a few days till all the documents and paperwork are completed. I'd say Monday?"

Scorpius's jaw dropped. "What the hell?"

"Enjoy the rest of your 3 days to get whatever it is you need to get out of your system", Draco took a large sip of his wine. "Varian will give you your contract to sign tomorrow about your duties and requirements".

"My contract?"

"You didn't think I was just going to take your word for it did you? I need something concrete, besides as a lawyer shouldn't you have expected this?"

"Ok fine do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care anymore, it's just a stinking 6 months anyway".

"Good to hear" Draco replied, a small smile on his face.

Scorpius glowered at him and without a word, he stormed out of his father's office, slamming the door behind him.

"Scorpius?" His mother called walking down the long corridor towards him.

"It was lovely to see you mother, I should probably be going. It's getting late" he said reaching down to hug her.

"Don't forget tomorrow's charity gala," his mother said. "Your father has invested a lot of money into the building of the geriatric ward in St Mungos, so we are expected to be there".

"Yes mother, I'll see you there tomorrow" Scorpius replied before he wrapped his cloak around him and disapparated from the manor.

* * *

"You're really doing it then?"

Draco looked at his wife, her face tinged with worry as she lay on their bed later that night, propping herself up on her elbows to stare at him. He did up the buttons on his silk pajama shirt and climbed into bed beside her wrapping his arms around her.

"Yes, I have to," he replied. "It will be good for him Astoria"

"I know" she sighed into his embrace. "I just worry about him you know?"

"As do I but if we want him to change his ways, we must do this and let him learn the hard way. He's never had to care for anyone or anything other than himself. I think it would be good for him to spend time with the people at the reserve who have made sacrifices and do their jobs because of passion and not gold. He needs to learn that gold isn't everything and that is something that I had to learn the hard way when all our assets were seized after the war because of an inquiry by the Auror department".

Astoria snuggled into his chest, "you did well to come up on your own dear".

"I just want Scorpius to learn some of what I learnt." Draco sighed.

"You know what dear?" Astoria asked looking up at him. "I think you're right, this will be a good lesson for him to learn and if he doesn't then"-

"Then?" Draco raised an eyebrow looking into her baby blues.

"Then I'll beat him with a broomstick myself" she finished and Draco chuckled.

"I'll hold you to that promise", Draco's eyes twinkled with mirth and he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before pulling her closer, giving in to slumber.

Author's note: If you liked it please review! And if you didn't like it do let me know what I can improve on and what you didn't like. I look forward to reading your reviews.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius and Lily interactions!! Scorpius saves Lily a couple of times this chapter! worth a read

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING and all characters that you recognize belong to JK Rowling.

**CHAPTER 2**

"This is ridiculous" Lily grumbled as she put her dress on for the charity dinner. "Why do I have to go for this dinner? I hate dressing up and I hate events like this."

"Because your aunties bought your dress for you and it would hurt their feelings if you didn't wear it" Rose replied sweetly. "Besides, I heard it was insanely expensive".

"Alright fine" the younger redhead grumbled. "I'll wear it only cause it's so pretty".

"And you'll do it with a smile", Rose wagged her finger warningly at Lily who merely scowled in return.

Lily sulked at her reflection in the mirror as she caressed her scarlet locks with her fingertips. Her hair had been curled and styled by Dominique who had all but forced her curling iron onto Lily's otherwise unruly locks.

"Stop it", Rose swatted Lily's hands away from her head. "You're going to mess up Dom's hard work".

"I look like a tart," Lily complained.

"You do not! I take offence to that! I purposely made sure that I did your make up light", Rose rounded sharply on her younger cousin.

Lily let a long suffering sigh leave her lips. "I'm not trying to be difficult Rosie, I'm just not cut out for these sorts of things. You know how much stuff like this bothers me".

"Just try to have fun will you?" Rose asked softly. "How long has it been since you and Lysander broke up?"

"A year," Lily replied quietly.

"You haven't been out in a year because of the break up. Don't let it hold you back from living your life, you've got to move on too. Don't worry if he does show up, we're all there with you". Rose placed a comforting hand on Lily's bare shoulder and squeezed it.

"Ok, I'll try", Lily turned to give her cousin a small smile and Rose pulled her into a hug.

"You look beautiful Lils, you just need to have a bit of confidence in yourself", Rose encouraged as she applied lip gloss on her lips.

"Thank you" Lily replied gratefully. "So do you! All eligible single wizards tonight better watch out, Rose Weasley is out and about and looking fab-u-lous".

Rose laughed, shaking her head in mirth. "Shut up" she said, laughter lacing her voice.

A sharp knock interrupted the two women and a voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Are you both decent or will I go blind if I go in?"

"Shut up Al!" Lily snapped and Rose rolled her eyes. "We're already dressed".

"Oh thank god" he said dramatically as he entered the room.

"Oh Al" Rose squealed, rushing towards him to pull him into a hug. "You look adorable!"

"Hey, watch it Rosie" he snapped, making a big show to smooth out the wrinkles on his muggle tuxedo.

"I'll show you how I watch it" she grabbed him in a fierce headlock, ruffling his hair.

"The fuck?! Rose, aaaaah stooop", Albus struggled for a while, caught in his cousin's death grip before she released him looking mighty proud of herself.

Lily sniggered as she watched Albus glare at their cousin while trying to smooth his wayward hair.

"LET'S GO EVERYONE!" James's voice echoed throughout the house and a scattering pitter patter of feet later and half the family had gathered in the living room.

Lily stood with Rose and Dominique trying not to look and feel awkward in her outfit.

"You look beautiful sweetheart", her mother commented as she made her way to the three young women.

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" James asked, peering at Lily carefully.

"Get fucked Jamie" her scowl deepened.

"Nice to know that there really is a woman hidden somewhere deep inside that can surface- such as tonight" Albus remarked and Lily flipped him off.

"Shut up Albus", Dom came to stand beside Lily, ever ready to defend the youngest female cousin in the family.

Albus's eyes widened when his gaze landed on Dominique. "Why haven't you put on your dress robes?"

"These are my dress robes" Dom replied indignantly.

"They are barely even robes. Looks like a wild animal attacked you, leaving behind 2 measly pieces of cloth enough to cover the important bits."

"And?"

Albus stared at her in disbelief. "What do you mean 'and?' Please tell me that you're not seriously going to go to dinner looking like that?"

"I don't see what the problem is" Dom remarked cooly as she twirled around, modelling the outfit for Albus. "Before you say anything, no I'm not going to go up and change".

With a huff, Dominique turned on her heel and stalked out of the room with Rose and Lily snickering into their hands.

"Seriously the women in our family sure are a force to be reckoned with" Albus exclaimed.

"Leave your cousin alone Al, she's a grown woman and can more than adequately handle herself" his mother lectured.

"I give up" Albus sighed tiredly, adjusting his glasses.

"What are you giving up on son?"

Lily turned to see his father enter the living room. His hair was still unruly despite his numerous attempts to tame it. Although with age and time, the greys were beginning to show around his temple. Her mother insisted that his untameable hair had always been part of his charm.

"Urgh just the women in our family dad" Albus replied.

Harry chuckled moving to stand beside Albus, patting him on the shoulder.

"If there's one thing I learnt from being married to your mother Albus, it's that the women in our family are strong willed and are a force to be reckoned with. The same way we cannot go against the tide, we cannot go against Weasley women."

"That's just a fancy way of saying you're hen pecked and you'll do whatever mum wants you to do".

"Not at all Al", Bill interjected as gave Harry a brotherly slap on the back. "It just means that he's a smart man who has discovered the elixir to a long and happy married life".

"Urgh you're all definitely henpecked" Albus muttered.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, PLEASE ASSEMBLE"

"No need to holler James we're all standing within ear shot!"

"SORRY MUM, oops sorry mum yes that's better, still had the charm on from earlier", James pointed his wand at his voice box and looked around the living room, doing a quick headcount.

"Sirius, where is Sirius?" James called out. "Everyone else is here, even the most reluctant member of our family, Lily"-

"Fuck off Jamie" Lily snapped from the back of the living room.

"Lily!" Her mother exclaimed. "Please dear, do watch your language".

"I'm here," Sirius called out. He had an unpleasant frown on his face and he was looking at his dress robes with disdain.

"What's wrong Si?" Lily asked in concern as she approached her younger brother.

"These dress robes are fugly," he complained, picking at the fabric.

"Wait, what happened to the other set of dress robes you had for the yule ball last year?"

"I outgrew them. Must be the growth spurt I had last summer. The arms are too short and it's too tight around the shoulders. I've had to borrow uncle Charlie's old ones and these were probably fashionable 20 years ago".

Lily gave her brother a once over before flicking her wand at the dress robes. "There, that should do it" she remarked leaning back to admire her handiwork.

"They look pretty decent now Lily! What did you do?"

"I just transfigured the ruffles on the front to a smooth lapel, it was easy enough" she commented.

"This is great! Thanks Lil, now I can actually hold my head up high and walk around without looking like a"-

"I dare you to finish that sentence nephew." Charlie raised an eyebrow as he inserted himself into the conversation. "And what happened to my dress robes?"

"Uh the abomination that you refer to as dress robes has been improved. Lily transfigured the hideous ruffles all down the front and now it looks half decent."

"The ruffles were the best part!"

"About 20 years ago maybe." Sirius muttered darkly.

"ENOUGH FLUFFING AROUND PEOPLE LET'S GO!"

"James! What did I say?"

"Sorry mum but no one was listening to me. OK gather round everyone! I've got the port key that'll get us right outside the venue. 90 seconds to go so make sure everyone grabs someone holding on to the portkey".

It was only then that Lily realised half her extended family had gathered in their living room.

"Where is everyone else?" Lily asked James.

"The rest of them are at uncle Ron and aunt Hermione's place. There's another port key there", he replied as he reached out to hold her hand. "You'd better hold on to me Lils, we all know how you get with portkeys."

"So glad I didn't get ready at home. Dad always stresses me out when it comes to things like this", Rose whispered from beside LIly. "When your mum offered that I could get ready here with you I jumped at the chance. There's a reason she's my favourite aunt and godmother."

"Godric! Remember when you graduated from Hogwarts?"

Rose shuddered as her mind simulated the memory for her. "Don't remind me Lils, I may still have PTSD from that time".

Lily giggled as she gripped onto the old hula hoop that was the portkey for the night.

"I think only a hula hoop could happily portkey most of our family" Lily commented.

James grinned widely, tightening his grip on her arm. "That's why I chose it". He glanced at his muggle watch before looking around the room. "Alright everyone ready? 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1"-

Lily closed her eyes feeling the familiar tug behind her navel and a dizzying sensation caused her to lose balance and she stumbled backwards, colliding into something solid. She felt strong arms gripping her shoulders to steady her and she thanked her stars that she had chosen to stand next to James. His Quidditch reflexes must have kicked in.

"Are you alright?"

That voice didn't belong to James though. It was much too rich and deep and it sent a seductive warmth pooling in her belly. She whirled around to find that she had backed straight into the one person she'd never expected to see.

"Varian Zabini?"

Rose had rushed forward to stand beside her and Lily was grateful for her presence. She'd been tongue tied since she'd laid eyes on the object of her schoolgirl infatuation.

"Oh hey Weasley" he greeted Rose. "Haven't seen you since Hogwarts. How have you been?"

"Good thank you Zabini, I hear you opened your own firm recently. Congratulations".

"Thanks Weasley, I hear you're following in your mother's footsteps, working in the minister's office?"

"Yes I am", Rose replied with a small smile.

"Varian" a voice called out from a distance away.

"Please excuse me ladies" he said politely. "My father has summoned me". His lips were set in a grim smile.

"Please carry on, don't let us keep you" Rose remarked.

"I'd much rather you keep me for the whole night to be honest. I imagine my evening is going to be as fun as getting splinched. Well, it was good to see you again Weasley, maybe I'll catch you around later". With a nod in their direction, he headed off to join his father.

"Come on Lily, James has been freaking out. Apparently the portkey malfunctioned and we've all missed the designated point and have been randomly separated around the compound", Rose dragged her by the hand and led her to the entrance of the venue

"Where is everyone else?"

Rose smiled thinly, "Sirius had a bad case of portkey motion sickness and he's been vomiting in the bushes since we arrived". Seeing the worried expression on Lily's face she quickly added "but not to worry, your mum and Hugo are with him and Hugo's just given him a potion to help settle his stomach".

Lily's expression softened into relief and the two of them entered the building together where the rest of the family were waiting.

"Lily!" Albus exclaimed rushing to examine her. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied, swatting away his hands as he tried to turn her around to get a good look at her.

"Sorry" James apologized to the group. "The portkey malfunctioned but I'm glad everyone is here in one piece."

"Urgh, speak for yourself" Sirius called out before turning an unflattering shade of green. He rushed off into the bushes and could be heard dry retching.

"Eh, ok" James replied nonchalantly. "He'll live, not to worry. Let's go in people, our tables are right in front of the dance floor."

Lily felt the knot in her stomach tighten, bringing back memories of the last charity dinner she'd attended. She'd arrived with her family only to leave within an hour of arriving. Lysander had broken up with her days before the last charity gala dinner only to have a leggy brunette on his arm at the dinner. It wouldn't have mattered to Lily so much if she hadn't been in a relationship with Lysander for 8 years or if the leggy brunette on his arm hadn't been the daughter of a prominent ministry official. Lily hadn't attended a single ministry function since but it had been a year and it was time for her to move on. To be honest, she hadn't planned on attending this charity dinner either and if it wasn't for the new dress that her aunties had bought her, she would have probably skipped it.

"You ok?" Dominique was at her side. "I don't see him around so hopefully he doesn't show up."

"Unlikely" Lily muttered "the Prophet reported a few weeks ago that he was now back from Scotland and had purchased an old castle, he's bound to be here. He'd also want to support his dad who's getting an award for his research."

"Well I'm here if you need me" Dom replied with fierce resolve and Lily was grateful for her family's support.

"Thanks Dom, let's go find our seats", she steered Dom in the direction of one of the tables James had booked and found the Weasley cousins all seated at one table.

"The seniors decided to separate us," Hugo explained, gesturing to their seating arrangements. "Think they did it so that they could bitch about us."

"I'm not complaining" Fred commented "I'd rather not be involved in their conversations. I might just end up getting lectured."

"Can't believe we've ended up sitting next to that Zabini and Malfoy clan though" James muttered darkly.

"What rotten luck" Albus agreed.

Lily's eyes strayed over to the table next to them. Varian Zabini was chatting animatedly to Scorpius Malfoy who looked exceptionally grumpy but despite that she had to admit they made a very good looking pair. She looked around the room and noticed that the rest of the women in the room seemed to think so as well.

"It's like looking at milk chocolate and white chocolate goodness" Dominique commented on Lily's left. "Like an iced mocha with cream on top- delicious". Lily laughed, shaking her head at Dom who was grinning devilishly.

"Godrick please Dom, I don't need to know what your inner thirsty thoughts are" Hugo hissed. "But doesn't it look like something's got Malfoy's knickers in a twist though?" Hugo whispered from beside Lily.

"No idea, must be something big" she replied, frowning slightly. Even at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy had always looked cool, cocky and unfazed and so this expression of his was something she didn't think he was even capable of.

Lily's eyes scanned the venue. It was bustling with people and she found a few familiar faces amongst the masses. Then her eyes landed on the one figure she had hoped and prayed wouldn't show up.

"Lysander" she whispered softly and Hugo's head snapped up to follow her gaze.

"That bastard" he seethed. "He dare show his face after last year. Just ignore him Lily, he's not worth your attention".

Lily felt her heart constrict uncomfortably and her head felt light. She had to leave, she had to go somewhere, anywhere, away from here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is about to begin shortly but before that I would like you all to stay seated for the award presentation".

Lily's stomach knotted tightly as the emcee for the night began rattling off the categories for the awards. It was all white noise to her, she tried to focus on her breathing but it wasn't working too well and she felt the air around her become thin. She vaguely remembered Hugo commenting on Scorpius Malfoy receiving an award on behalf of his father for being the most charitable businessman. The awards kept going and finally she watched as Lysander received an award for the most number of pro bono cases taken on by a single legal practitioner for the year. She was going to pass out if she didn't leave and she nearly sobbed in relief when the emcee announced the end of the awards and the start of dinner. She stood up to leave when Hugo reached for her wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked, looking at her in concern.

"Just going to the restroom", she smiled weakly and all but ran out of the large ballroom.

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy was bored out of his damned mind. His father had declined attending the charity gala dinner and much to Scorpius's chagrin, he had been delegated to accept the award on his behalf. He watched a number of people leave the ballroom and smirked to himself. He himself would have very much preferred to leave the event. He watched as one of the redheads from the Weasley table got up to leave and he felt the envy. He saw Rose Weasley follow after the first redhead and he turned back to talk to Varian but his friend was already getting out of his seat.

"Are you fucking off too?" Scorpius hissed.

"Are you mad? My dad will disown me if I so much as dream of that, I'm just going to use the restroom".

"You had better come back", Scorpius warned. "I refuse to be left by myself in this shithole".

"You have my sister for company," Varian remarked gesturing to his younger sister who looked anything but happy to have Scorpius as her only form of company.

"Arina is essentially a kid Varian," Scorpius protested.

"Better a kid than a raging asshole" Arina remarked and Scorpius raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me young lady, who taught you such terrible words?"

"What? I'm sixteen Scorpius, get used to it", she muttered.

"You will always be the snot-faced 5 year old who cried when she couldn't tie her own shoe laces. Oh what about that time when you ran away from home because your father grounded you for stealing his wand to hex your nanny and you forced a poor house elf to help you floo to my house and asked my parents to formally adopt you because you didn't want to be a Zabini anymore", Scorpius shrugged as she chucked a napkin at him.

Varian chuckled. "As fun as this has been going down memory lane, I'm going to leave you two to it. I've been dying to go to the loo since the damned awards started", Varian dashed off in the direction of the exit.

"Something smells fishy" Arina remarked looking thoughtful.

"What smells fishy?"

"Hmm nothing, I'll tell you when I find out more information".

"Oh come on kid, tell me" Scorpius coaxed. "I'll buy you something good this year for Christmas! What about a new broom?"

"I'm not so easily bought" Arina huffed, turning back to her food.

"You're no fun" he sulked.

"Au contraire, I find this most enjoyable", she smiled and Scorpius rolled his eyes at her.

"Urgh, this place is so suffocating" he complained.

"Yep" Arina replied dismissively, her attention on another table.

Scorpius looked over to where his mother was engaged in deep conversation with two other occupants at their table. It was times like this when he wished he had a bigger family, like the Weasleys. Surely there would never be a dull day with a family that had enough members to form a small army. Apart from Rose Weasley who he had the misfortune of working with when they had been prefects together at Hogwards, he couldn't tell the other redheads apart. He did know the two Potter boys. James Potter was a blithering obnoxious moron who seemed to possess more brawn than brains and had been the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Albus Potter who had been in the same house as him was the total opposite to his brother. He had seemed fairly intelligent but reserved. Albus Potter had been civil when they'd had to work together as prefects and played Qudditch and that was about the extent of their interactions.

The Potter boys also had a sister who had been in Slytherin. She was a mousy thing who always seemed to be hiding behind her older brother, Albus. He remembered her unruly scarlet hair and her wide eyed expressions. She had been a scrawny thing with her nose always buried in story books. They had both been in Slytherin but he had never really interacted with her. He did remember on one occasion during Quidditch tryouts when Varian tried to help correct her flying technique and she turned bright red, falling off her broom. Scorpius had been the closest to her at the time and had swooped in to catch her. She had avoided him and the Slytherin table like the plague after that. He remembered seeing her in the hallway and she would turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Probably the only girl in Hogwarts that did that to him.

Out of curiosity, he scanned the table to see if he could spot a mousy looking girl matching the recollection he had of her from Hogwards, but there didn't seem to be anyone who matched that description of her in his head. He hadn't seen her in years and he briefly wondered what the female Potter looked like.

"What are you looking at?" Arina asked from beside him, following his gaze.

"Nothing".

"Are you looking at the Weasleys?"

"No, why would I be doing that?" he drawled with an eyebrow raised.

"You're well within your rights to perv on Weasleys if you wanted to", Arina stared pointedly at him and he glared at her.

"I am not-", he hissed before letting out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not having this conversation with you! You know you can be just as infuriating as your brother".

"I only live to serve" Arina replied smugly and Scorpius only scowled in reply.

"What is taking your brother so long?"

"Maybe he found someone to shag?" she offered helpfully then her expression turned serious. "No wait, that's usually you isn't it?"

"Oh for fuck's sake Arina" he exclaimed. "I swear all I'm getting you is a lump of coal for Christmas".

"I expect nothing more", she grinned at him flashing her beautiful pearly whites at him.

"I'm going to find Varian," he said standing up and ruffling her hair affectionately. "Save me some dessert."

* * *

Lily gasped for air as she stepped out of the building. The night was cool and the moon hung low, illuminating the gardens with it's ivory glow. Lily would have otherwise loved the gardens but not tonight. She was trying to fight the panic attack threatening to bubble over.

"Lily?"

_No. This couldn't be happening, she didn't want to talk to him or see him. She'd come out here to escape him. She most definitely couldn't-_

"It's been a long time".

_Not now, she couldn't crumble now. She had to be brave. She couldn't let him see her weakness, she couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her facade crumble. She had to get it together, she could do this. She was not weak._

"It has been a long time Lysander," she replied coolly.

"How have you been Lily?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"I'm good," she replied stiffly.

"I miss you Lily" he said and her head snapped up to meet his gaze. "I've been thinking about you a lot, especially while I was in Scotland. Tell me you miss us- miss me".

"I don't- I don't miss you Lysander", her heart constricted.

He grabbed her wrist and she wrenched it away, as though burned.

"Come on Lils- don't tell me you don't miss me even in the slightest? What about the mind blowing sex we used to have? Not even that?"

She turned away from him not wanting to look at his face. He didn't know the pain he put her through nor would he ever know.

"I think about you all the time Lily, I miss what we had and I just wish we could go back to those times." His hand cupped her cheek and she stared at him, her lips parting in surprise. She did not expect this from him.

"Don't", she whispered, turning her cheek to put distance between his hand and her face.

"Sander?" A female voice called out and Lysander's pregnant arm candy appeared, looking at them in question. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just bumped into an old friend", he replied and despite what he'd told Lily earlier, he turned away from her to walk towards his new woman.

"My father wants to introduce you to some people" she said and he nodded, holding out his arm for her to take.

"Alright, let's go back in".

Lily felt her chest tighten and their voices floated back to her even whilst they were walking away.

"And how is my baby today?" Lysander asked and Lily watched as he affectionately rubbed the belly of his new woman.

Lily's vision filled with memories of a not so distant past that she had tried to run from. This was not the time for her trauma to resurface, she'd done well to suppress it before but today everything seemed to be caving in. All it had taken were a few sentences from him for everything to come undone. She felt her vision blurring. _No, not again_ was her last thought before she felt her mind transport her to a time best forgotten.

_Lily stood in the apartment that she shared with Lysander. She'd been waiting for him since 5pm that day. He'd promised he'd be back home early. They hadn't spoken about it but he should have known that today was a special day. It was their 8th anniversary of being together. But here she was 7 hours later, waiting in the living room with candles burnt down to the wick and an elaborate home cooked meal sitting on the dining table stone cold._

_The anniversary dinner was just an excuse to Lily. She wasn't bothered about the cold food or the long wait. He did usually work exceptionally long hours as of late and he had told her that his caseload had been very high. She held the tiny picture in her hand, the main reason for her wanting Lysander to come home early. She rubbed her belly, looking down at the tiny bump forming. It was hardly noticeable and it didn't seem that Lysander had suspected anything either. She couldn't wait to surprise him. They'd never talked about having children before but his career was blooming and whilst she was still progressing with hers, she considered this an unexpected blessing._

_The fireplace glowed a bright green and Lily hid the sonogram inside her jeans pocket. This was the moment she had been waiting for all day. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when she told him he was going to be a father._

_Seconds later, Lysander stumbled through the fireplace and the strong scent of liquor filled her senses and there was another scent there that she couldn't pinpoint. She moved forward to try and help steady him._

_"Lysander", she tried holding her arms out to him but in his drunken stupor he simply waved his hands around._

_"Why are you still up?" His words were slurred and his eyes looked glazed over._

" _I've been waiting for you," she said. "I thought you were going to come home early"._

" _I was but I got held up". His breathing was slow and he leaned against the wall, giving her the look. She shuddered, it was the look. The look he always gave her before they- "Lily"._

" _Yes?" Her heart raced and she felt the fluttering in her stomach. He was walking towards her and any minute now- she closed her eyes._

_His hands cupped her cheek as he reached in, crashing his lips against hers. It wasn't long before his hands were under her shirt, his fingertips like molten lava against her skin. He scooped her up and carried her to their bedroom. She buried her face in his chest, the smooth fabric of his work shirt against her cheek. Then it hit her. The smell that she couldn't pinpoint before. It was a floral scent, alluring and sensual and it had permeated the fabric of his clothes. It was perfume, female perfume- that wasn't hers. She pulled her head away from his chest and in a split moment she caught sight of a faint smudge of pink against his collar. Lipstick._

_He threw her onto the bed roughly and she let out a puff of air. He was always rough whenever he had too much to drink. He let out a devilish grin and quickly stripped himself of his clothing before getting started on hers. She closed her eyes and let him take over. Her initial excitement of their impending parenthood had faded and the little sonogram in the pocket of her jeans, which now lay discarded on the ground, was forgotten. She should have known- he'd been working late a lot and he never had time for her anymore. This is what it had come to. She had to confront him, talk to him about this and maybe they could make it work- for the sake of their unborn child, they could try. She would-_

"You might want to watch where you're going".

The rich drawl of a male voice jerked her back to a hazy reality and she felt her knees turn to jelly. Warm and solid arms caught her before she could crumble, holding her close. She felt the toned chest muscles and the minty smell of his cologne, so warm and comforting. She forced herself to focus on whoever it was and maybe try to pull herself together.

"Well, I can't say I'm not used to women falling into my arms", he sounded half amused and she tried again to focus her blurring vision on his face.

Honey brown eyes met those of liquid mercury and she struggled to remember where she'd seen those eyes before. She blinked again and the face of the man whose arms she was currently in came into full view. The platinum blonde hair, the aristocratic features and that god awful smug smirk.

"Malfoy?" she asked weakly and his smirk faded as he was hit with sudden realization.

"Potter?" he asked in surprise.

"Malfoy" she whispered again before her vision turned black, falling limply into his arms.

* * *

All Scorpius had wanted to do was find his friend Varian so they could leave the event and go somewhere else for a drink. Did he find Varian? No, instead he found trouble.

"What the fuck" Scorpius exclaimed as the woman in his arms passed out. "Hey, Potter" he called, jostling her in his arms a little. She moved around like dead weight and he cursed. "Now what the fuck do I do?"

"Lily? Lily are you out- What have you done to her?"

A red headed young man- probably one of the Weasley cousins rushed over to Scorpius, glaring at him accusingly.

"Relax, I haven't done anything to her", Scorpius replied icily.

"Then how do you explain this?" the Weasley guy gestured to the unconscious Potter girl in his arms.

"She collided into me and then randomly passed out. I stopped her from hitting the ground so technically, you owe me a thank you".

"How did she seem before she passed out?"

"What?"

"I'm a healer and Lily's cousin" the Weasley guy snapped, pulling out his healer pass from his cloak.

"Hugo Weasley" Scorpius read. "Emergency and Trauma Healer, St Mungos- ah yes, I believe you're Rose Weasley's brother".

"How did she appear? Was she short of breath or anything?" Hugo asked whilst examining Lily Potter.

Scorpius looked thoughtful. "She seemed like she was struggling to breathe and her eyes were glazed. Kind of like lights on, nobody's home?"

"Anything else?"

"She was stumbling, one arm clutching her chest and the other arm on her belly".

"Ah shit she had one of her panic attacks" Hugo mumbled to himself so softly that Scorpius almost missed what he was saying. "I thought she was over them". The Weasley guy looked to be deep in thought, muttering to himself.

"Can I leave now?" Scorpius asked impatiently. "I do have better things to do you know".

"Give me a minute Malfoy, I just need you to sit her up so that I can give her a potion", Hugo Weasley busied himself with a little case he had produced from his cloak, enlarging it to produce a full fledged potion cabinet.

"Can't you just open her mouth and shove it down her throat", Scorpius looked at Weasley pointedly like it was the most obvious thing to do.

"I understand shoving things down women's throats seems to be your pastime given your reputation but the potion needs to go down straight away and besides," Weasley looked at him with a glare "I don't want her to choke on it".

"Fair point" Scorpius remarked. "I'm used to women choking on me, so makes no difference", he shrugged and Weasley rolled his eyes.

"Now sit her upright against your chest for support", Weasley ordered, busying himself with the potions he brought.

Scowling grumpily, Scorpius moved to kneel on the ground and gently rested Lily Potter's back against his chest so she was seated with her back straight. The warmth of her back seeped through the fabric of his shirt and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. Her head was tucked under his chin and the smell of cinnamon and vanilla filled his senses and he struggled to concentrate on anything other than the scent. He was reminded of the warm cinnamon tea cakes that the house elves back at the Malfoy Manor used to make. Comforting, nostalgic childhood memories filled his mind and he blinked them away, trying to focus on what Hugo Weasley was doing.

He had to admit, he was a little bit curious and fascinated. The young healer waved his wand and muttered a few incantations that Scorpius had never heard before. A light blue glow drifted slowly from Hugo's want and engulfed Lily potter who opened her eyes slowly.

"Wh-where am I?" She seemed to struggle to make sense of where she was. "Hugo?"

"We're at the charity gala dinner, you passed out. Here drink this, it will help calm you", Weasley passed her a vial filled with orange liquid.

"Th-thank you" she said and downed the vial, her hands shaking slightly, something that Scorpius didn't miss.

"While this has been riveting, I must take my leave now. I have yet to fill my shag quota for today" he drawled and Potter whipped her head around so quickly that her hair brushed across his neck. He closed his eyes briefly as that bloody intoxicating cinnamon and vanilla scent permeated the air around him.

"Malfoy?", the shock / horror was evident on her face.

"In the fucking flesh Potter" he replied standing up abruptly to dust his robes and she fell backwards without his support holding her in place. "I'll have you know that these robes were very expensive and I hope you appreciate that I got down on my knees for you. Usually when women throw themselves into my arms, it's the other way round but I'm happy to take a raincheck" he replied with a smirk and he was pleased to see two crimson blots appear on her cheeks.

"Piss off Malfoy" she scowled.

"I believe the appropriate sentence is 'thank you Malfoy for catching me before I passed out. If you hadn't helped me I would have likely hit my head on the concrete floor, gotten a concussion and lost a bunch of brain cells and ended up with the mental capacity of a 10 year old'".

"That doesn't always happen- err the mental capacity of a 10 year old part i mean" Weasley corrected and Scorpius merely stared at him.

"Anyway I'd love to stay and chat but things to see, people to do. Oh and _You're welcome_ by the way Potter", he threw another smug smirk in her direction.

"Isn't the saying, things to do, people to see?" Weasley asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Not for me", Scorpius made his way back into the dining room when he heard Weasley speak.

"I thought you were over your panic attacks".

Scorpius turned back to see the two cousins huddled in conversation. The young healer had his hands placed on Potter's shoulders and he was peering at her with worry and concern. Scorpius slowed his steps to eavesdrop. His curiosity had always been a problem.

"Not exactly, I've still been having them" she replied truthfully. "But tonight was the worst one I've had in a long time. He approached me and tried to talk to me and he touched my cheek and that brought back so much that I'd forgotten or tried to forget rather", there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I'm going to kill him", Hugo sounded livid.

"No don't Hugo, it's over. I just-I just want to move on", she sounded weak, almost trying to convince herself that she needed to move on.

_Who would dare touch the daughter of Harry Potter?_ That was the question that Scorpius asked himself as he stepped into the corridor. _What on earth had happened to her causing her to react like that? Not to mention her hands shaking as she drank the potion, like she'd been suffering from the after effects of experiencing something horrific and soul damaging._

"Scorpius?"

He was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly. Varian was walking towards him, surprise etched on his face. He looked slightly disheveled and windswept.

"Where the fuck have you been Varian?" Scorpius snapped.

"I just went out to get some fresh air," he replied looking taken aback at Scorpius's tone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Scorpius sighed. "Lily Potter passed out and I happened to be there but-"

"Did you just say Lily Potter passed out?"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow as Rose Weasley appeared out of nowhere. "Where did you come from Weasley?"

"Not important, tell me what happened to my cousin".

"She's fine Weasley, your brother attended to her already" he replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have people to do".

"Isn't it people to see?" Rose asked, turning to Varian.

"Not with Scorpius," he chuckled.

With a sharp turn of his heel, Scorpius stalked back to the ballroom leaving both Varian and Rose in his wake looking at his retreating back.

"Scorpius darling where have you been?" His mother asked as he approached the table.

"Just had something to attend to" he muttered. "I'll be heading off mother, I need to finish a couple of things before my new job on Monday".

"Sure dear, do stop by for dinner next week and bring Varian with you. Salazar knows if either of you are eating properly holed up together in that flat".

"It's hardly a flat Astoria" Annette Zabini interjected. "It's a million galleon luxury condominium!"

"Oh Annie you know what I mean" she replied with a giggle.

"We should have never let them move in together, worst decision on our parts!".

Scorpius rolled his eyes at the two women. He kissed his mother on the cheek and moved to do the same to Annette Zabini.

"Are you leaving already?" Arina asked.

"Yes kid, I'm leaving. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen goodbye. I hate to go and leave this pretty sight", he said cheerfully.

"Yeah right. I can hear just how much you want to leave. At least take me with you", she grumbled.

"Sorry kid, not this time. I'm about to go and do some R rated stuff so you'll just have to stay here unfortunately".

"I really hate you sometimes" she sighed.

"But you love me the rest of the time" he grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she scowled. "Just enjoy being a teenager for now and try not to want to grow up too quickly".

"Well good thing I ate your dessert then", she remarked.

"All the best for the new job Scorpius", Annette wished.

"Thank you aunty Annie", and with a smile he made a move to leave the table when he saw Hugo Weasley walk up to one of the tables that the Weasleys occupied. Scorpius watched as he bent down to speak with Harry Potter and his wife whose face was set in a concerned frown. He watched as they exchanged words before Harry Potter kissed his wife on the cheek and followed the young Weasley healer out of the ballroom.

Scorpius walked out to the designated apparition point and waited for his turn. Ministry wards prevented anyone from randomly apparating in or out of the venue and he hated portkey travel and floo travel with a passion. Lily Potter was in front of him in the line with a person in between them, talking to her father. Scorpius couldn't help it, his ears caught some of their conversation.

"I'm fine dad" she replied tiredly. "It was just a lack of sleep and work stress".

"Are you sure you should be apparating in your condition? Maybe I should follow you home" he asked.

"I'm fine dad, I just need some sleep that's all. Really I will be fine going home by myself", Scorpius thought she sounded like she was trying hard to persuade her father.

"Hmm" Harry Potter replied thoughtfully but he looked like he wasn't buying her excuse. "I'm not going to push this sweetheart but just promise me you'll let me or your mother know if you're not feeling well?"

"Yes dad".

"Are you going back to Godric's hollow or staying at the reserve?" he asked.

"I'm going back to the house, I also won't talk to any strangers and I'll lock the door and I'll also-"

"Smart ass" Harry Potter teased fondly lightly hitting her on the arm.

"Wonder who I take after in that area" she smiled.

"Definitely your mother" he reasoned.

"I should go back and get some rest" she said tiredly and her father pulled her in for a hug. "Now go back and enjoy yourself dad and seriously don't worry about me I'll be fine. Seriously dad, go back in and tell mum too not to worry, I'll be fine. Everyone must be wondering where you are."

"Alright sweetheart, see you in the morning" he said with a smile before heading back into the building.

Scorpius watched Lily Potter's shoulders noticeably sag as she let out a puff of air she'd been keeping in. She still looked unsteady and Scorpius privately thought that her father was right. She didn't look like she should be apparating anywhere. But it wasn't his problem, she could take care of herself couldn't she? She had insisted she was fine after all.

"Full name and apparating point?" A ministry official asked, taking down the details.

"Lily Luna Potter, Godric's Street apparition point" she replied and took an unsteady step forward.

"Thank you, you may apparate" the ministry official replied.

Scorpius watched as she swayed a little before shakily waving her wand. She wasn't going to get to Godric Street in one piece. "Ah fucking hell", he exclaimed exasperatedly, pushing ahead of the person in front of him. He had to get to her before she apparated but as he reached her, she had vanished. He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.

"Hey I was in front-"

The man he'd pushed past started to protest but Scorpius silenced him with a glare. The man shrank backwards and motioned for Scorpius to go ahead.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, Godric street apparition point" he snapped at the ministry official and without waiting for a reply, he apparated with a 'pop'.

* * *

Lily felt like her world was spinning. She looked around trying to make sense of her surroundings but to no avail. She forced herself to concentrate on where she was. There was a playground in front of her and she deduced that she was a few streets away from the apparation point on her street. She let out a frustrated sigh and began her walk back to her house not wanting to risk apparating again. She hadn't done too well earlier and had ended up in a different place, feeling luck that she didn't splinch herself at least. Perhaps she should have listened to her father and not apparated but it had been the quickest option.

The night was cool and the street lamps glowed a warm orange. Lily felt sluggish and her muscles ached from the cold night air. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. The straps of her five inch heels dug into her skin and the blisters and cuts she'd sustained from them hurt. All she wanted to do was rip off her shoes, have a hot shower and crawl under the covers.

Seeing Lysander again had shaken her badly. She thought her days of having panic attacks were almost over. Wrong. Seeing him had unsettled her but his touch on her skin unravelled her.

The air around her became thin at the thought of his palm against her cheek. It was like _that_ night all over again. No, she couldn't relive those memories again. She already had a taste of her past tonight and she couldn't have it again. Her breath came out in ragged puffs and she stumbled forward unsteadily. She tried to get her wand out but her vision began to blur again. _No, please no_ she thought in panic before her legs gave way and she collapsed onto the sidewalk in a heap.

* * *

Scorpius could not see Lily Potter anywhere. He had made it smack onto the apparation point but looking around, the streets were empty. Perhaps his concern for her was unwarranted. Maybe she'd already made her way back home and he had followed her for nothing. His mind replayed the way she unsteadily apparated and he shook his head knowing full well that apparating in that state would only have led to trouble.

Maybe he would just look around for her once. She could have landed on a different street in her state. He walked further past the apparition point till he'd passed two streets. There was a playground in the distance. A niggling in the back of his mind propelled him to look there.

"She's not going to know, let's take her stuff".

Scorpius felt a jolt run through his body. _Potter_ , _ah fuck_. This night just wouldn't cut him a break. _You asked for it_ , his brain replied smarmily and not for the first time that day he cursed himself for his curiosity. He blamed his mother for this. His grandparents had always said she had been an overly curious, inquisitive child and these same attributes of his had to have come from her. Under the glow of the street lamp he saw her, passed out on the ground with two men standing over her. They were going through her purse, digging through for anything valuable.

"Bloody hell John, there's nothing in here but these random weird coins, a wooden stick and some gum", the man who had spoken threw her purse down to the ground angrily. "Fucking waste of me time that was."

"What about that Mikey?" the other man with him, John, suggested. "Her necklace looks pretty valuable."

"It does aye", Mikey replied. "But so does she, what do you think mate?"

"Thought we don't do nothing of that sort?" John asked. "Thought we just grab stuff and go?"

"But this one is a pretty one John, Maybe we can take her back to the other boys? It might make up for the poor loot we got this week?"

John sighed, "alright, it's your call Mikey".

"Well I say we take her back and let the others decide, come on John, help me get her up". The two men bent down and Mikey wrenched the chain from her neck, breaking it. "Looks like a diamond on it, maybe we're in for a big haul then?"

John nodded happily, giving his friend a gap toothed grin. He placed one of his hands under the unconscious girl's back and another under her knees preparing to hoist her up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Scorpius drawled, emerging from the shadows.

"Who the fuck are you?" Mikey growled.

"Me?", Scorpius looked mildly pleased at being asked. "If you must know, I'm just a good samaritan, performing my moral and civic duty".

"And what's with the super hero cape?" John asked, taking in Scorpius's charcoal dress robes that were billowing about him in the wind.

"These are robes, rather expensive ones mind you but I won't expect a muggle like you to know this" Scorpius snapped in irritation. "But no matter", he waved his hand dismissively. "You won't remember any of this by the end of tonight anyway".

"Well fuck off and give this one to us, go find your own loot".

"Hmm" Scorpius looked like he was contemplating their suggestion for a second before turning back to the two men before him. "I like this one better," he replied "now leave her before I call the muggle _poe-leece_ ".

"We ain't scared of no po-po" John piped up.

"Let's get him" Mikey growled, launching himself at Scorpius.

The blonde rolled his eyes, side stepping away from Mikey and watched with satisfaction as the thug lost balance and crashed into the ground. Seeing his friend fall to the ground, John let out a shout before he too launched himself at Scorpius.

"Guess you need a lesson too", the blonde drawled as he grabbed John by the arm and flipped him to the ground next to where Mikey had stood up. "Ready for round two are you?"

"I'm gonna hurt ya real good", Mikey whipped out what looked like a butterfly knife flicking it around menacingly.

"Yeah, we're gonna hurt ya real good" John followed, also pulling out some sort of pocket knife.

"Hey, now that's not fair boys. I was going to fight you the muggle way before but since you're not playing fair, neither am I", Scorpius pulled out his wand from his cloak.

Mikey let out a snort of laughter, "John, he's gonna fight us with a stick".

John guffawed loudly and Scorpius glared at them. "Alright boys, laugh all you want now because I guarantee you won't be later" he drawled.

"Let's get him," Mikey shouted and both men charged at Scorpius with their weapons.

"Seriously?" Scorpius exclaimed. "Well I did warn you".

The blonde wizard waved his wand lazily and the effects were instantaneous. Both men let out a shout as they were levitated in mid air, their arms and legs flailing about in panic.

"Put me down," John shouted.

"If you insist" Scorpius replied lazily, waving his wand again and dropping both men to the ground in an unconscious heap.

He walked over to the two men and looked at them thoughtfully. He reached into Mikey's pocket and pulled out the necklace that the now unconscious thief had stolen from Potter, placing it into the inner pocket of his robes. And now it was time to wipe their memories. Scorpius raised his wand and a silvery stream wafted disappearing into both men's temples.

"Both of you have given up your thieving ways and you both have decided to become carers and have vowed service to the elderly. Yes, yes, I think that's a good life path for you both. You have both decided to look after the elderly in those muggle homes for old people and will spend the rest of your days wiping bottoms and changing nappies of the invalid elderly possessing the patience and tolerance of patron saints. Oh and after John here professes his undying love for you Mikey, you'll both live happily ever after with each other. The end."

He stood up with a satisfied sigh and turned his attention to the unconscious Potter girl. Maybe he could _enervate_ her to revive her. He whispered the incantation and tapped his wand to her head but nothing happened. _Now what?_ He had now idea where her house was, other than the fact that it was in the vicinity somewhere. He thought about taking her to St Mungos but that might raise too many questions and possibly he would end up with blame. The Malfoys and the Weasleys-Potters weren't exactly on the best of terms. He sighed tiredly realizing that he had very little choice at the moment. He grabbed her purse, hoisted her into his arms and shook his head vigorously to clear his senses of that blessed cinnamon and vanilla scent that assaulted his nostrils. Giving her unconscious face a look of absolute loathing, he apparated with her to the only place he could at the moment. His apartment.

"COOKIE! BROWNIE!" he shouted as he landed in his living room and as soon as the names left his mouth, his house elves appeared.

"Master?" Cookie asked.

"Is Varian home?"

"No Master Scorpius, Master Varian is not yet home".

"Alright, I need you to fetch someone for me please" he said. "Hugo Weasley, emergency and trauma healer, St Mungos. He might still be at the ministry gala dinner anyway you know where to find him and Brownie-" he turned to the female house elf who was quivering in fear. "Oh for Salazar's sake Brownie, stop shaking, I'm not angry with you I just need you to-" he broke off sighing tiredly rubbing a hand over his face.

"Ma-ma-master?" she squeaked looking like she would cry any second now.

"Brownie, you are not in any trouble and no, Master Scorpius, me, I, am _not angry_ with you at all" he reiterated, his tone gentler and softer. "Would you please do me a favour and look after this lady for me till Cookie brings her cousin? Her name is Lily Potter, she passed out earlier. I am going to change out of my robes and have a quick shower, but in the meantime make sure she's comfortable and taken care of".

"Y-y-ye-yes Ma-master S-sc-sco-scorpius" she replied and Scorpius shook his head, if she shook any more than she was at the moment, her brains would have rattled in her head.

"Brownie" he said and she looked at him with large watery green eyes. "For the last time Brownie, I am _not_ angry with you. You have been doing good work so far, there is no need for you to be scared of me I am not going to- Brownie stop crying for Salazar's sake- I am not going to give you clothes so stop getting upset and this is an order- you are **NOT** to hurt yourself!"

He briefly wondered if he should have paid more compliments to the house elf before heading to his bathroom, looking forward to washing off the sweat, dirt and grime that he'd accumulated, thanks to Potter.

* * *

Hugo Weasley had been talking to one of the nieces of his Uncle George's wife, Angelina, on the outdoor balcony of the ballroom. He'd been rather taken with the young milk chocolate coloured witch and the little braids she had her hair in. She was a foreign correspondent working as a liaison to the Kenyan ministry of Magic and she had recently finished her secondment and was back awaiting her next placement. She was beautiful, intelligent and even her name was exotic. _Masika, a name with its roots in swahili meaning child born during the rain_. She captivated him with her stories about the alluring, mystical world of Africa and he lost himself in their fascinating conversation. He wished for nothing more than rain at the moment. He would have loved to have her in bed under the covers, writhing and moaning his name as they made sweet love to the sounds of rain beating against his glass windows. Or, what would feel like to have his milky hands caress the rich cocoa sheen of her-

"Hugo Weasley, Emergency and Trauma healer, St Mungos?"

A house elf who barely reached his waist stood before him dressed in a rather expensive and elaborate looking pillow case.

"Err, yes?"

"I am Cookie, house elf to Master Scorpius and Master Varian and my master has summoned me to bring you to him".

"What?"

"Please, please come with me Hugo Weasley, Emergency and Trauma healer, St Mungos" Cookie pleaded.

"But I-" Hugo looked torn between wanting to play out his fantasies with the beautiful witch in front of him or to follow the house elf.

"You'd better go" the object of his fantasies advised a concerned frown on her face. "It might be serious".

With a sigh he reluctantly followed the house elf out of the ballroom and to the apparition point, mourning the loss of his fantasy ever eventuating into a reality.

* * *

Scorpius stepped out of his room dressed only in a bathrobe, towelling his wet hair. Lily Potter was dressed in a t-shirt of his that looked far too big for her and a pair of his boxer briefs. He covered his face with one hand, wondering why on earth he was having to deal with this. He draped his towel over his shoulder and sighed.

"Brownie!"

The timid elf appeared before him once again shaking like a leaf. There was a good reason why she was Varian's designated house elf and Cookie was his. Those 2 seemed to get along like a house on fire but he could never so much as interact with Brownie without her feeling terrified of him. For the life of him he had no idea what he did to make her fear him so much but he supposed it was too late to rectify that now.

"Ma-ma-master?"

"Why is Lily Potter dressed in my underwear?" His tone was stern and controlled, like was trying not to explode.

"Brownie th-thought th-th-that was sh-shorts" she whispered fearfully. "Is Br-brownie in-in-in tro-trouble?"

The elf's eyes welled with unshed tears and Scorpius looked to the heavens summoning every ounce of patience he possessed. "No Brownie, you're not in trouble", he bit out.

Varian had warned him about losing his temper in front of the house elf. Her emotions were fragile and that probably was the reason why she took a shining to the ever patient, saintly Varian. Varian was sweet, kind, patient and encouraging. He was also everything that Scorpius was not.

Scorpius rubbed his forehead with his palm asking every deity in the universe to please provide him with the tolerance he needed to survive this moment. The distraction he needed came in the form of Lily Potter stirring.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked, trying to sit up from the sofa.

"Miss Lily Potter!" Brownie bounded over to her and Lily yelped in surprise, recoiling back. "Oh no Brownie has scared Miss Lily Potter, Brownie is a bad elf! Naughty elf! Brownie must now be whipped as punishment!" A whip materialized out of nowhere.

"Will you stop that Brownie" Scorpius snapped, "this isn't the time for self- flagellation. Please Brownie, just go- go make us some tea and bring out some of those nice party pies that you make will you?"

"Malfoy?" Lily Potter turned to look at him.

"No, it's the fucking tooth fairy" he snapped, massaging the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"How did I get here?" she asked looking at him.

"You were"-

"Miss Lily Potter, Brownie has brought some tea for you and some party pies. These are Master Scorpius's favourites", Brownie had returned placing the tray in front of Lily who managed a small but warm smile at the elf.

Scorpius was beginning to get a headache.

"Thank you err Brownie was it?" Lily asked and the other elf nodded happily. "How very sweet of you. These look lovely and I'm sure I'll enjoy the party pies". Lily touched the elf kindly on the shoulder and Brownie positively beamed with happiness. A look Scorpius had only seen when the elf interacted with Varian.

"This is also Miss Lily Potter's dress that Brownie has cleaned", the elf produced the black gown that she had been wearing earlier in the evening.

"My dress?"

Lily Potter looked like she had only just realised that she was wearing something other than her dress, letting out a gasp of horror. Scorpius watched in amusement as she reached for a seat cushion to hastily cover her lap.

"What is this? Why am I wearing your underwear Malfoy?"

"Well" he drawled devilishly, "after we had hot passionate animalistic sex, you wanted something else to wear and so I gave you my"- She had thrown a seat cushion at him, hitting him in the face. "What the fuck Potter? Is that any way to treat your saviour? Your two time saviour may I add?"

"What did you do to me?"

"Relax Potter" he drawled taking a seat on the luxurious armchair beside the sofa. "I didn't touch you, I do like my women to be conscious when I sleep with them you know."

"Urgh", she exclaimed with a look of disgust.

"What? Never heard of consent before Potter?" He raised an eyebrow in her direction and helped himself to tea.

"Did you change me?" she asked her voice a dangerous hiss.

"Would you have preferred it?" He asked leaning forward, smirking wolfishly.

"Fuck off!"

"But alas no Potter, you were not privileged enough for that. Brownie helped change you and somehow thought that my boxer briefs were shorts. Can't blame her, I do have a big"-

"Malfoy", she gritted out, "how did I get here?"

"I happened to be in the neighbourhood and saw you passed out and brought you back here because I didn't know where your house was?" That technically wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.

"Why were you even in my neighbourhood?" She asked curiously.

"I was merely going to visit someone in your neighbourhood" he replied easily taking a sip of his tea, looking at her over the rim of his cup.

"So that's it?"

"What?"

"You saw me passed out and decided to bring me back here?" She was looking at him curiously and it unnerved him a little.

"Would you have rather I left you there on the street? I'm sure that would make for a fantastic Daily Prophet front page story." He put down his tea cup and waved his hand dramatically in the air "I can just see the headlines, ONLY DAUGHTER OF HARRY POTTER AND GINNY WEASLEY FOUND DEAD ON THE GODRIC STREET, HER REMAINS EATEN BY A PACK OF VULTURES, ONLY DECOMPOSED FLESH AND MAGGOTS FOUND".

"There are no vultures here" she scowled.

"You can never say" he replied with a shrug.

A loud pop sounded throughout his living room revealing Hugo Weasley and Cookie. The former looked surprised at the scene before him.

"Master, I brought Hugo Weasley Emergency and Trauma Healer, St Mungos", Cookie exclaimed raising his hands to present the red redhead standing there with his mouth wide open. All that was missing was a 'taa daa'.

"What the fuck is this?" Weasley shouted.

"Will you stop yelling Weasley, we are right in front of you" Scorpius snapped.

"Why the fuck is my cousin wearing your underwear?"

"Well my house elf wanted to change her into something more comfortable and mistook my boxer briefs for shorts, can't blame her though; I do have a pretty big"-

"Malfoy!" Both cousins exclaimed at the same time.

"What?"

"Can we keep on topic for one minute?" Potter sounded exasperated and Scorpius realised he quite enjoyed getting some sort of strong emotional reaction from her. It It amused him greatly.

"Anyway, she's awake now," Scorpius continued. "She passed out on the street earlier and I happened to be passing by and I brought her back here because I didn't know where she lived and then I sent for you because I thought she may need some healing assistance and also to get rid of her. So there you have it".

"You just happened to be passing by did you?" Weasley asked him suspiciously.

"Yes".

"You didn't do anything to her?"

"Seriously Weasley, I wouldn't take advantage of an unconscious woman," he snapped.

Weasley stared at him, "prove it- let me see".

"Fine, if you don't believe me here-", Scorpius growled, holding his wand to his temple twisting it till a silvery white stream emitted. Producing a phial, he collected the contents into it, thrusting it at Weasley.

Weasley seemed satisfied as he accepted the phial not questioning Scorpius any further. He moved to his cousin to examine her. Scorpius looked on as the young healer poked and prodded Potter with his wand.

"I don't understand," Weasley muttered. "I gave you the potion, you should have been alright".

"I think Hugo, that the potion wasn't strong enough. I think my body is immune to the dosage, I might need a higher strength", Potter said quietly and he nodded turning into his robe to pull out his potion cabinet.

Potter drank the potion handed to her and shuddered as she swallowed it down. Scorpius studied her as she knocked back the remaining contents of the phial. Her face was now void of make-up, thanks to Brownie. Scorpius could now see the pale pallor of her face and the dark smudges under her eyes. She obviously hadn't been sleeping very well.

"Come on, I'll take you home Lils" Weasley held out his hand.

"Uh, I'm still wearing Malfoy's underwear as shorts, do you have anything you can give me?" she asked awkwardly.

"Oh here, have my cloak", Weasley undid his cloak from its clasp around his neck and draped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks Malfoy for helping me today" Potter said stiffly, looking at him in the eye.

"No need for thanks Potter, just give me your first born child after me and that will be enough" he replied and she rolled her eyes.

"What are you? Rumpelstiltskin?" she asked sardonically.

Scorpius looked pleased. "I'm glad you got my reference!"

"How'd you even know that? It's a muggle fairy tale" Potter remarked.

"I know lots of things Potter", he sipped his tea again, looking at her over the rim of his cup and to his delight, she shuddered under the intensity of his gaze.

"Malfoy I'm having one of these for the road," Weasley said, shoving a party pie into his mouth. "These are delicious!" he exclaimed with his mouth full.

"Manners please Hugo!" Potter chided.

"You should try one, it's so good!" he said and before she could protest, Weasley shoved a mini party pie into Potter's mouth.

"Mmf," she grunted and then her eyes widened in delight and mouth breaking into a goofy smile, an expression Scorpius thought looked quite becoming on her. "These are delicious! I'm going to have another one!" she exclaimed, taking another two in her hands to Scorpius's amusement.

"We'll be taking our leave then Malfoy. Thank you and if you need any healing or contraceptive potions, please don't hesitate to ask me" Hugo offered with a grin, helping himself to another party pie.

"You may not be able to keep up with the volume of contraceptive potions I need Weasley", a smirk plastered itself on his face voluntarily.

"Hugo will do, there are a ton of us Weasleys you know", Weasley held out a hand to shake his and he reluctantly reciprocated the action. "Thanks once again Malfoy, see you around".

Scorpius waved a hand dismissively and the cousins apparated out of his apartment together. He watched the empty spot where they'd stood moments ago and privately thought that Hugo Weasley wasn't too bad and had maybe, possibly, ever so slightly grown on him.

"Ma-ma master" Brownie called running into the living room. "Th-this", the elf held out her hand and in the middle of her long palm sat the necklace that he had retrieved from Mikey the thug.

He reached out and took it from her holding it up to the light to get a better look. It was then that he realised that the glinting pendant was a flower, a Lily. He placed the pendant in the middle of his palm to examine it. It did look rather antique and expensive. There were small glittering diamonds in the middle of the flower. Scorpius felt a delectable warmth spread through his body as he curled his fingers into a fist, covering the pendant.

"Oh and Brownie?" He called as the house elf turned to walk away.

"Mas-mas-master?" She began quivering again.

"Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley liked your party pies. Lily Potter even took a few back with her so good work, well done Brownie".

The reaction he received was the most unexpected one from her yet. Brownie looked at him, her bottom lip quivering and promptly burst into tears running out of the living room. He blinked dumbly, staring at the elf's retreating back wondering what on earth he did.

* * *

Hugo emerged from the pensive containing the memory that Scorpius Malfoy had handed him. His head swirled with the intimacy of being exposed to someone else's thoughts. _Malfoy had been worried about Lily_ , was the first conclusion he'd drawn as he emerged from the pensive. He'd started the memory with Scorpius in the line at the apparation point and ended the memory when he went in for a shower after asking Brownie to tend to Lily. What was stranger was that _Malfoy had gone after Lily_. He didn't need to and if his reputation at Hogwarts had been any indication of his personality, he really wasn't the type to care about others but Hugo had felt it. He had felt Malfoy's concern through the memory as he'd searched for Lily to make sure she was fine. He wasn't even sure if Malfoy himself knew what he'd felt. But it was there, Hugo definitely felt it.

"I sent a note to my mum and dad, letting them know that I'd be staying at yours for the night. Just so that they don't worry you know", Lily entered his study and flopped down on the couch.

"Oh good" he replied, still preoccupied with what he'd gathered from Malfoy's memory.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Oh nothing, just checking something out" he replied nonchalantly.

"Is that Malfoy's memory?" Lily asked.

"Uh, yes but I don't think he transferred it properly, it's a bit patchy but from the little I saw, didn't seem like anything sinister was done to you" Hugo lied.

The memory he had seen revealed far more than even Malfoy perhaps intended. He felt wrong divulging Malfoy's innermost private thoughts to Lily even if she was his cousin. To be honest, he wasn't even sure why Malfoy had given him the memory. He technically didn't owe it to Malfoy but he decided to maintain a healer-client confidentiality, the man had saved his cousin twice, this was the least he could do.

"Oh" came the simple reply.

"By the way, how did Malfoy find you? Did he tell you?"

"He just said that he was passing by on his way to visit a friend and he found me passed out" she replied.

"Hmmm" Hugo replied thoughtfully.

_Malfoy had lied to Lily._ From what he'd seen, Hugo knew that Malfoy hadn't just been _passing by_. He'd gone _looking for Lily_. Not to mention he had fought two muggle thugs and had stopped a potentially bigger thing from happening to Lily. _But yet he hadn't mentioned any of this to Lily when he could have very well rubbed it in her face._ _Instead, Malfoy had downplayed everything. But why?_ Not to mention he'd used magic on muggles, something strictly forbidden.

"He's going to get a big fine from the Ministry" Hugo mumbled absentmindedly.

"Who is?"

Hugo jerked up in surprise not realising he'd spoken out aloud. "Oh just someone I know" he replied dismissively. "Now you, go and get some rest. The spare bedroom is already made up for you".

"I'm not tired though" she pouted and he laughed.

"Doesn't matter!" he replied sternly. "You have to rest up, if not I won't let you go in to work on Monday! Healer's Orders"

"Did you forget I used to be a healer too?"

"Yeah well now I'm your healer and I'm warning you seriously about not letting you go in to work!"

Lily's eyes widened. "No! You wouldn't do that!"

"You know I would!"

"I didn't even get to find out about the investment!" Lily moaned. "This night has just been the worst!"

"You'll find out on Monday I'm sure", Hugo replied as he transferred Malfoy's memory back into its phial.

"Fine, I'll go to bed" Lily grumbled, stalking out of the room.

Hugo labeled the phial he received from Malfoy and placed it in his study table drawer, locking it with his key. There must be a reason why Malfoy had downplayed what he'd done for Lily but for now Hugo would remain mum about it. He had decided that Malfoy was not a danger to Lily and he briefly wondered what the blonde's real personality was. Whatever it was he had a funny feeling that they hadn't seen the last of Malfoy.

Author's note: Do read and review! Your reviews motivate me to write and finish this story faster!


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